We had a power outage last night at about 6:30pm. This morning around 9 it finally came back on. I opened the fridge, and everything in it was still cold, so should everything be okay or should I toss everything?

I work for our local Extension Office, check with the one in your county and the CFS educator can give you power outage food facts! I know with a full freezer that food is okay from a power outage for two days...

To be on the safe side, I'd probably toss any uncooked meats, mayo and mayo-based salad dressings--the more perishable items--from the fridge. Things like produce, ketchup, mustard, butter, cheese should be fine. And I'd keep an eye on the milk.

The freezer--food in there should be okay if there were still ice crystals on the packages.

A suggestion--if you don't have a thermometer in your fridge, get one. That way you could have immediately checked the temp when you opened the door--that would have told you a lot about the safety of the food inside. I always keep a therm. in my fridge and freezer. Well worth the minimal investment.

I used to work at the Extension Office. We had a list (copies available!) that listed how long refrig and freezer items were good in outage. Different condiments are good for different times. Eggs/Milk/Butter all diff times. Pick one up and be safe.

On a related note:One trick to use if you are going on vacation is to put a couple of ice cubes in a plastic storage bag in your freezer. That way when you get home you can check the ice cubes, it is easy to tell if they have melted and refrozen.